Major international organizations classify countries by different factors. One criterion that is often used is gross national income (GNI) per capita – the dollar value of a country’s final income in a year, divided by its population

FX Reserves | China’s foreign exchange reserves plunged by nearly $94 billion in August, the most ever in a single month, as the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) struggled to support the renminbi after devaluing the currency by 1.9%.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund recently held an informal meeting to discuss a staff report that found some deficiencies in the renminbi as a potential reserve currency.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
The surging dollar, falling euro and plunging emerging-markets currencies had a record $32 billion negative impact on the earnings of companies in North America and Europe in the first quarter, according to Scottsdale, Arizona‒based FiREapps, which helps corporations measure and manage foreign exchange exposure.

Trends | Economy & Disease
In May, South Korea reported its first case of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). The death toll had climbed to 24 as we went to press, making it the largest outbreak outside of Saudi Arabia, where the strain was first reported in 2012.

Milestones | Iceland
Nearly seven years after introducing controls on capital movements, Iceland is planning to ease restrictions it put in place when the collapse of its banking system brought the country to the brink of financial meltdown.

The European Union is still debating the nature of its common currency, the position of non-eurozone EU members like the UK, and the future of stressed eurozone countries like Greece. But the situation in other parts of the world is quite different.

Trends | US Dollar/Mergers & Acquisitions
The US dollar has climbed some 25% since June to its highest level in the past 12 years, which could have a significant impact on one of America’s biggest economic drivers: foreign direct investment.